SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Jonny Flynn blossomed as his sophomore year at Syracuse neared its end and decided to enter the NBA draft after starting and starring for two seasons for the Orange.

That decision paid big dividends on Thursday night when Flynn was selected sixth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was the fourth consecutive guard chosen, behind high-scoring James Harden of Arizona State, the third pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder; Tyreke Evans, who went fourth to the Memphis Grizzlies; and 18-year-old Ricky Rubio of Spain, the fifth pick by the Timberwolves.

“They’re getting a player that’s going to come in every day, bring a high level of energy, work hard, a guy that’s going to go out there and have an overflowing passion for the game,” Flynn said after he was picked.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, perhaps trying to spur Flynn to greater heights, offered this assessment of his star guard after serving a stint as an assistant on the U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Beijing last summer.

“When I got back from coaching (New Orleans guard) Chris Paul, I’m going like, ‘You’re not that good,'” said Boeheim, who, nevertheless, encouraged Flynn to explore his pro chances after the season. “I don’t think college kids realize how tough the NBA is.”

Flynn got at least a small taste. From Toronto to California to New York, he spent the past month auditioning for nine teams. Flynn, who has a vertical leap of over 40 inches, thought he fit right at the top of the point guard list because of his athleticism, knack of getting in the lane and making plays—and he was right.

Flynn’s former Syracuse teammates Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf also were eligible.

The 6-foot Flynn’s stock soared after his performance in the Big East tournament. He led the Orange’s epic six-overtime victory over Connecticut in the quarterfinals and received plenty of national exposure with every dribble.

Because that game didn’t end until 1:22 a.m. in the East, millions of fans around the country, especially in the Pacific time zone, got a firsthand glimpse of his indefatigable tenacity. Flynn played 67 of a possible 70 minutes and finished with 34 points, 11 assists and six steals. He also played all 45 minutes in an overtime win over West Virginia the next night.

“I think that propelled me onto the national stage,” said Flynn, who, despite Syracuse’s loss to Louisville in the Big East title game, was named tournament MVP, only the fourth time in 30 years that a player from the losing team received the award. “A lot of people on the East Coast knew primarily who Jonny Flynn was (already).”

In a pre-draft interview with the media in New York, Flynn said he was interviewed by every team he worked out for, and the first question in each interview was about the UConn game.

“I try to sit back sometimes and look, if I hadn’t played UConn, or we would have lost that game, or it wouldn’t have went six overtimes, then where would Jonny Flynn be right now?” Flynn said. “If I had to answer that, I’d probably still be at school.”

Flynn averaged a team-high 17 points a game and finished the season with 254 assists, the second-most for a sophomore in school history, behind only the 289 by Sherman Douglas in 1986-87.

As a freshman, Flynn averaged 15.7 points and had 53 steals and 185 assists to go with 95 turnovers to earn co-Big East rookie of the year honors.

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